Shopsmith Forums

ElaborateBobcat wrote:Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.

Benush26, how bad was taking it off the truck? Is it enough to have two (relatively strong, not so young) guys to take it off the truck or should I request a liftgate while I still have the chance?

I will post pictures once I have everything all set up!

I "think" if you have Shopsmith arrange delivery and choose "Residential", then the lift gate is included. Otherwise I think it's a $20 up charge. For me they only delivered to the street, not on to the driveway (I asked the dispatcher a couple days before delivery if they would back on to the driveway and was told no), so even off the truck you need to get it to its new home. Even with 2 strong people, 291 pounds - the weight shown on the manifest - is quite a bit.

Mine arrived on a 28' truck that had the lift gate. If i was to guess, i'd say the height of the truck bed was 5'. I had mine placed on a golf cart trailer so it was easy to back up to the garage door. The driver placed the crate on a gate, barely, since the lift gate is shorter then the length of the box, then lowered it to a few inches above the cart. It did take a fair amount of effort to slide it on to the cart because of the pallet. If I'd been smart I would have placed a large wooden dowel under it to make it roll easier.

The box is about 31 1/2" wide, 65" long, but sets on a pallet. The pallet doesn't slide well.

How far are you taking it? In to a garage, shop or basement? If you have access to an open pickup bed, you could slide it off the delivery truck into the bed and then take it to where you will unload.

Realistically it is a long distance even for 2 strong men to take it from the bed to the ground and then hauling it without benefit of something with wheels could be a great deal of work. If you dont have some type of wheeled cart or pickup then you might try to get 4 people then I would suggest 2x4s cross ways through the openings on the pallet and one person on each corner.

If it is only the two of you, I have heard that one owner took the top off and carried it in pieces to his basement (though I think 2 of them carried the assembly with the headstock / tubes).

I'm not sure any of this helps, just how I did it

Ben

curiousgeorge wrote:I would suggest getting the lift gate. It would be difficult for even two strong men without it. The driver that delivered mine was kind enough to help, even tho they are only required to bring it to the back of the truck, when he delivered mine and it was still a struggle with the lift. A strong two wheel dolly is also a good idea for getting it to where ever you need it. He was kind enough to let me use his, but you never know.

Yep. ^^^^^^^. What he said! In Far fewer words than me.

I remember when I bought my first one New in 95, When it was delivered could not imagine all the boxes they unloaded in my driveway. I got them all into my Garage shop and they were just laying on the floor and it was like a Christmas morning and I just stood there and looked. Then I opened the first one and saw my new MKV 510 and got the manual out and read it front to back several times on how to assemble and adjust my new addition. Don't rush it and take your time. Taking your time and doing all the adjustment correctly will make your machine all it can be. I just wish I had taken pictures from start to finish so I could have it to look back on.
Have a great time and welcome to the SS family.

Thank you for the information! 300# is quite a heavy load but I only need to bring it from the end of my driveway to my garage (all level concrete).

I was thinking that if they deliver it with a lift, I can set it up on a rolling dolly and just roll it to where I want it. I guess we will see how that goes!

They told me that I could just roll my pickup truck behind the truck and then push it into the bed. But my concern is how to get it down from there, so the lift-gate sounds better.

Again, thank you for the information an the welcomes. I will let you all know how I got the unit off the truck and hopefully it will help others in the future.

Actually if it is in the back end of the pickup, you can back in to the garage and use the rafters and block and tackle (or even a rope over the rafters) to ease the box on to the floor.

However, with a wheeled dolly, you should have no problem, just watch for those expansion joints

Have Fun!!

Hope the present administration don't find out how addictive Shop Smith tools are, they will put a enchanted tax on it!
Congradulations on your purchase and new one to come!

Hope the present administration don't find out how addictive Shop Smith tools are, they will put a enchanted tax on it!
Congradulations on your purchase and new one to come!

Buy, Borrow, rent a hand truck. Then have the Shopsmith loaded onto it and you can move it anywhere you want.

I bought my Shopsmith from a Demo'er who kept some in his rented storage unit. I went there and the two of us loaded it into my pickup.
I drove it home and unloaded it unto my garage floor very simply myself.

I pulled enough of the shopsmith out so it tipped down on its edge to the garage floor then I stood it up on the hand truck and moved it where I wanted it. I then leaned it over and set the top edge on the floor and unpacked it.

No trouble and no heavy lifting.

Don't try to pick it up let gravity and physics work for you.

I got the Shop Smith today. It wasn't as bad as I thought, so I was able to get it off on my own since it came in pieces. I had the FedEx guy slide it into the bed of my pickup truck and I backed it up and took the small parts out and then slid the main bench out. It was very easy to do all by myself!

Now to put it all together!

By the way, my baby was born on the 21st of July at 9pounds, 9 ounces and 23 inches long! Momma and baby are doing great and she didn't need a c-section. Not bad for a first baby! Now he just needs to grow up to work on it with me. I will practice until then so I can teach him.

Thanks for all of the welcomes and advice.

ElaborateBobcat wrote:I got the Shop Smith today. It wasn't as bad as I thought, so I was able to get it off on my own since it came in pieces. I had the FedEx guy slide it into the bed of my pickup truck and I backed it up and took the small parts out and then slid the main bench out. It was very easy to do all by myself!

Now to put it all together!

By the way, my baby was born on the 21st of July at 9pounds, 9 ounces and 23 inches long! Momma and baby are doing great and she didn't need a c-section. Not bad for a first baby! Now he just needs to grow up to work on it with me. I will practice until then so I can teach him.

Thanks for all of the welcomes and advice.

Congratulations, Bobcat!!! That's a big baby!

Judging from my own experience, you will finally have time use that new machine, still only on rare occasions mind you, when your youngest baby turns 4 years old!